Of Wishes and Miracles
by Lone Wulffe
Summary: Songfic based on Sakura Taisen 2: Kimi, Shinitamou Koto Nakare's Kiseki no Kane by the Hanagumi. It's Christmas in Kalm, and two people are about to get a gift that doesn't quite fit in a box... AerithCloud oneshot


So… um, this will be my first foray out of my little Evangelion shell, as well as my first Aerith/Cloud fic. I hope you enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: I hereby state that I do not, in any way, claim ownership of Final Fantasy or its characters. That belongs to Square, and no, I don't even own stock (or dust, for that matter) in their company. I also do not own Sakura Taisen or the song used here. (There, I'm done with the legal jargon. Happy?)

Key:

"Talking"

'Thinking'

_Song_

_Translation_

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All was quiet and peaceful in the little town of Kalm, and the rooms within its only inn were quieter still, considering the rather early hour. In one such room, a pair of heavy-lidded ocean blue eyes opened lazily, the owner of said eyes slowly rejoining the waking world. Blinking as if in slow motion, Cloud Strife wondered to himself what in the Planet's name had disturbed his much-needed sleep. After all, their journey so far had been pretty rough, what with all the excitement ('madness' seemed like a better term sometimes) that had dotted their every moment and the monsters that dogged their every step. Additionally, the soft bed under him felt like heaven compared to the uncomfortable tents they had had to make do with along the way to Kalm. Shifting his gaze from the bare ceiling above him to the only window in his room, the reason behind his early wake-up call was immediately apparent.

'Figures,' he mentally grumbled to himself. 'No wonder I felt so damn cold.'

Beyond the dusty frosted glass, snow was falling on the already white town of Kalm.

Heaving his hand up so he could look at his wristwatch (he felt too lazy to even lift up his head), Cloud duly noted the numbers flashing on the device's small screen and groaned out loud. Yes, much too early to be getting up and leaving the warm and very enticing covers of his bed, he decided. Shifting his body so that his back was towards the window, the ex-SOLDIER promptly pulled his blankets tighter around himself in an almost cocoon-like manner and prepared to settle back to sleep.

Unfortunately, it was at that moment that a tornado of pink and brown slammed open his door and whirled into his room, effectively dashing all hopes of returning to the elusive realm of slumber and dreams.

"Cloud! Cloud! Wake up! Come on, get up!" Aerith chanted excitedly as she quite literally jumped onto the group's unofficial leader's bed and nudged him none too gently (not to mention repeatedly) in an attempt to rouse him. The usual sparkle in her eyes seemed brighter than usual, and an ecstatic grin had taken the place of her trademark smile on her pink lips. In that instance, it was hard to believe that the flower girl from Midgar was already a mature twenty-two year old woman, for she acted very much like a nine year old girl.

"Ngh… Aerith, geroff," the Cetra's unfortunate victim complained gruffly as he struggled against his tormentor's coercions, yanking his blankets out of her grasp and pulling them over his head, succeeding in covering even his spiky blonde hair. "Go away and go back to sleep… It's too early for anyone to be up at this time of the day."

The flower girl puffed up her cheeks and pouted cutely at Cloud's resistance towards her wakeup call. "Cloud… come on, wake up, pleeeeaaaaasssssseeeee?" she whined childishly as she tugged away at his bed covers, revealing a pair of unfocused blue eyes and a very bleary expression.

"Alright, what in ShinRa's name deserves this Planet-forsaken wakeup call that can't seem to wait a few more hours?" he groused moodily, his voice thick with sleep and fatigue.

"It's snowing!" Aerith giggled uncontrollably as she pointed towards the window, where outside snowflakes could be seen dancing their way down from the sky.

The ex-SOLDIER was too weary to try and keep the exasperation out of his voice; after all, he'd seen snow (and lots of it at that) before in his hometown of Nibelheim. "…And?"

Visibly annoyed, the flower girl put her hands on her hips and huffed at his disinterest. "What do you mean, '…And?'?! It's snowing on Christmas! We're going to have a white Christmas!"

"Whatever that is, kindly leave me out of it." With that said, Cloud once again pulled his blankets over his muscular frame and faced the wall, effectively blocking both the girl and the window from view.

A soft sigh escaped Aerith's lips as she reassessed the situation before her. It was evident her attempts at waking him up weren't producing positive results. Sighing to herself once more, she turned the blonde man over to face her again and tried a different approach. "Cloud, wake up, please? For me?" she begged softly as she stared into those Mako-infused orbs.

The ex-SOLDIER could not help but stare back into her forest green eyes. The usual sparkle in them had dimmed noticeably, and she was biting her lower lip instead of smiling like she usually was.

'No… Must… Resist… Puppy eyes… Say no… Say no…'

"…Fine."

'What?! No, I wasn't supposed to say that! Damnit, damnit, damnit! Those darn puppy eyes get me every time! Argh!'

Almost immediately the gleam in those evergreen orbs was restored, as was her giddy smile, and at that moment he found it thoroughly hard to regret his decision. "Really? Thank you!" she cheered, jumping slightly on the soft bed. Cloud could only quirk an eyebrow and smile amusedly at her antics. Aerith stopped abruptly, a thought crossing her mind. "Oh, I'd better leave you to get dressed then. You'd better put on something warm; I don't want you catching a cold or something because of me," she said seriously as she clambered off his bed and headed for the door. Watching her leave, the blonde man absently wondered if the flower girl realized exactly how motherly she could sound sometimes.

Barely five seconds after she'd disappeared from his line of sight, the Cetra poked her head back in. "And you'd better not go back to sleep, SOLDIER boy!" she scolded in mock anger before vanishing into the hallway yet again, leaving him to stare at the spot where she'd been moments ago with a mix of bewilderment and bemusement. Heaving a sigh as he shook his head in defeat, Cloud sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his feet hitting the carpeted floor with a muffled thump. 'Better get a move on, or else she's going to storm in here with her Princess Guard in hand and beat me senseless,' he mentally joked to himself, although the thought didn't seem quite that far off.

Several minutes later, he'd freshened up (the cold water had done a remarkable job in washing away most of his tiredness) and was striding out of his room. As expected, he found Aerith waiting for him at the inn's main entrance, watching the snow fall. She'd exchanged her usual red jacket with a thick turtleneck sweater, its scarlet hue not quite different from the article of clothing it had replaced. A pair of oak brown gloves covered her small hands, but otherwise she was dressed as she normally was.

The sound of heavy footsteps alerted the Cetra to Cloud's arrival, and she turned around to greet him with a soft smile. He'd thrown on a dark blue denim jacket and haphazardly wrapped a deep red scarf around his neck, obscuring the lower half of his face. She inwardly sighed at his dress code. 'So like him: practical and simple,' she thought to herself as she nodded to acknowledge his presence.

"Shall we go, then?" the flower girl invited warmly as she led the way out of the enticing warmth of the inn. Falling in step behind her, the blonde warrior let his actions answer for him.

Feeling a cold blast of wind hit him in the face, the ex-SOLDIER winced as a light shiver ran down his spine. Inwardly he asked himself exactly why he had succumbed to Aerith's request and was now bracing the chills of winter when he could've easily enough refused and buried himself in his covers for several more hours. The answer was immediately apparent, and he mentally sighed.

Because it was Aerith who had asked.

Ever since the time he had tried to leave her house for Sector 7 without her, only to find her waiting patiently for him at the entrance, she'd always managed to get her way. Even when they'd had to rescue Tifa from Don Corneo's clutches, she had somehow gotten him to wear a dress and pretend to be a prostitute (he still growled whenever that particularly distasteful memory came to him) just so they could infiltrate the Honey Bee Inn. Yes, he reluctantly admitted to himself, Aerith had him wrapped very securely around her little finger. Whether she was aware of that fact or not, was another matter entirely.

"So," he started as he stifled a huge yawn, "what's this… Christmas thing you were talking about earlier?"

The flower girl stopped and turned to look at him so abruptly he nearly crashed headlong into her. "You mean you really don't know?" she asked incredulously.

Cloud absently scratched his head in embarrassment, finding himself unable to meet her skeptical gaze. "Um… yeah…"

Sighing, the Cetra began. "Well, it's like this…"

As they continued to walk down the streets, she told him about the celebration's history, the religion that birthed it and its traditions. (He'd raised a very disbelieving eyebrow at her tale of a fat old man dressed in red and white who could travel the whole Planet in one night riding a sleigh pulled by flying Golden Chocobos, and found it decidedly creepy when he heard that aforementioned old man squeezed himself and a sack full of gifts down people's chimneys to leave children presents. She'd laughed at him, and told him he wasn't being very festive by criticizing the credibility of a long-established tradition.) And he listened to her intently, hanging on to every word that tumbled of her red lips.

Because it was Aerith, after all.

"_Mukashi Betsurehemu no umayado ni "Long, long ago, in a stable in Bethlehem_

_Umareshi Iesu-sama wa The coming of Jesus_

_Kiseki no kane o narashitamouta "Rang the bell of miracles, and made it sing"_

In the middle of their walk, the flower girl suddenly stopped at a deserted crossroad and simply stood there, staring at the sky. "…Aerith?" Cloud called out uncertainly, unsure if he should interrupt her reverie or not.

"It's beautiful, isn't it, Cloud?" she asked out of the blue, as she continued to watch the snowflakes dance gracefully down from the heavens. "I heard that each snowflake is unique, and that no two snowflakes are alike in design. Oh, but you have to look at them very closely, like under a microscope, before you can actually see the difference. It sounds kind of like people, don't you think? Everyone's different, but you have to know them before the differences are noticeable."

A moment of silence passed as both of them let the weight of her words sink in, and the quietness settled over them like a blanket. After a while Cloud shook himself out of his self-induced reverie, figuring that they should probably continue their walk, but just as he was about to call her name again, she spoke up once more. "I've always wanted to see snow," she said softly, and the blonde warrior wasn't sure if she was talking to him or herself. "Mom bought me a snow globe once, for my birthday. It was really small, with this tiny snowman smiling inside, but I really liked it. It never snows in Midgar, as you might know, so I always dreamed of experiencing it when I left the city. But that seemed like a dream that would never come true."

She turned and looked at him then, and acknowledged his presence with a soft smile. "And then… you came along. You made it happen. So… thanks," the brunette whispered gratefully.

"…You're welcome," he answered gruffly in an attempt to hide his discomfort. It was amazing what a few simple words of gratitude from her (especially from her) could do to his composure.

"I'm sorry I dragged you out of bed for my own selfish reasons," she apologized suddenly, startling him. "It's just… I wanted to share this moment with someone, and… well, my first thought was of you," she added sheepishly.

"You don't have to apologize," Cloud found himself blurting out, much to his own surprise. "I'm… uh, I guess I'm flattered… that you chose me out of our entire group. And… I'm… kind of… glad I could make you happy," he mumbled, stumbling over his words.

"So you wouldn't mind spending the rest of today with me?" Aerith asked happily, the hope barely concealed in her enthusiastic voice.

Smiling softly at her (he did that a lot when he was near her, he noted), he replied, "I'd be happy to."

_Dare mo inai kousaten ni tatsu We stand at the empty crossroads_

_Anata to watashi no aida ni konayuki ga mau Between you and I, fine snowflakes dance_

_Negaigoto ga hitotsu dake aru no I have a wish, this one wish only:_

_Kyou wa tokubetsu na hi dakara "Today is a special day, so_

_Sukoshi yume o kudasai Will you grant me my dreams, but a little?"_

They resumed their walk in silence, both merely enjoying the pleasantly quiet surroundings and each other's company. Having nothing to focus his attention on, Cloud almost immediately suffered a relapse of fatigue, and very soon his eyes began to droop noticeably. Even so, he somehow still managed to match his pace to the girl walking beside him.

As they turned a corner on the street, Aerith felt Cloud's gloved hand brush against hers ever so slightly. She thought nothing of it… until said hand loosely clasped hers, their fingers intertwining. The flower girl blushed, and her eyes darted up to meet his gaze, hoping to obtain some clue as to his surprising actions… only to notice that he wasn't even looking at her; in fact, those ocean-blue orbs had a very glazed look to them. 'He's sleepwalking, the poor guy,' she realized guiltily. 'I guess I woke him up a little too early…' A thought crossed her mind, and she barely suppressed a laugh at the mischief of it all. After all, how was she supposed to pass up any chance at teasing him?

"Cloud…" she called out, just loud enough to get his attention. The ex-SOLDIER blinked and looked at her, his eyes regaining their focus as he met her bemused gaze.

"Hmm?"

"What are you trying to do with your hand?" she asked teasingly, quirking an eyebrow at his confused expression for more effect.

"My hand? Nothing, I…" he trailed off as his brain woke up enough to register that said offending appendage was, in fact, not exactly doing "nothing" at all. Much to his only audience's amusement, his face flushed a shade of scarlet that matched his scarf, and he began sputtering in a most undignified manner.

"That's- I didn't- But how- I mean-," he babbled unintelligibly, and Aerith couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. Cloud, attempting to save whatever dignity he had left (if any), tried to remove his hand by releasing hers, but was surprised when she tightened her grip, not letting him go.

"I don't mind, actually," she winked, shrugging slightly at his perplexed look. "Besides, this way I can make sure you don't accidentally walk into a pole or something, what with you sleepwalking like that."

"I was not sleepwalking!" he protested indignantly, but the Cetra merely waved his words away. "Let's keep walking," she cut him off before he could say anything else. Muttering something under his breath, he followed suit, albeit somewhat grudgingly. 'Pity,' she inwardly sighed. 'I was hoping he might've said something at least a little romantic… Oh well, that's Cloud, I guess. He did look cute, though, when he was trying to defend himself.'

_Dare mo inai machikado o yuku We walk the empty street corner_

_Anata wa watashi no te o tori nani mo iwanai Wordlessly, you take my hands in yours_

_Negaigoto wa atatakai kotoba My wishes are for heartwarming words:_

_Kyou wa tokubetsu na hi dakara "Today is a special day, so_

_Kitto kiseki ga okoru Surely miracles will happen!"_

"Maybe we should buy everyone presents," Cloud heard Aerith say out of the blue. "Of course, we'll have to wait a bit for the shops to open first, but the earlier we start, the higher the chances of us finding something suitable for everyone in the group. After all, I'll bet there are other people who do their shopping at the last minute, although I haven't the slightest idea why," she chattered idly.

"…You mean for Christmas?" he clarified, looking at her.

"Of course, Cloud!" she replied in mock crossness. "Honestly, have you even been listening to me this entire time?"

"Well, yes, of course, but… what's the gift-buying got to do with Christmas?"

The flower girl turned towards him as she sighed in exasperation, although the blonde warrior could swear he saw the corners of her lips curl upwards slightly. "Because, Cloud," she started, "Christmas is a time to be with family and friends. Gifts are only a part of the festivities; it's spending time together with the ones you love that's the true spirit of it. Nothing else matters much, really."

"So…" he began uncertainly, as if unsure whether he should even ask the question that was on the tip of his tongue, "…are you doing that? Spending time with people you love, that is."

This time she smiled at him, and wordlessly dragged him forward, ignoring his weak protests at being jerked along behind her.

'More than you know, Cloud. More than you know.'

_Dare mo ga honno sukoshi dare ka o omou toki If only a little, there're times we think of someone else_

_Kiseki no kane ga naru no darou Are not the bells of miracles a-chiming?_

_Dare mo ga honno sukoshi dare ka o omou toki If only a little, there're times we think of someone else_

_Ai no tomoshibi tomoru darou Is not the light of love enkindled?_

Aerith inwardly sighed at herself. 'Even if I say such things, and drag him out of bed just so I can spend some time alone with him, I'm still beating around the bush as ever. I'd like to be able to just come out and tell him outright in the face how I feel about him, but the situation is just so complicated (and so frustrating!) there's no way there's a straight path through this. There's the fact that I'm the last Cetra, and I'm supposed to save the Planet from a mad general, which I'm still trying to figure out exactly how I'm supposed to do such a thing when I'm just a flower girl from Midgar!'

The poor girl felt like hitting herself on the head with something then and there, preferably her trusted Princess Guard. 'And then there's Tifa… who's my best friend, not to mention HIS childhood friend, and also has feelings for him. I know we both agreed that there would be no bitterness over this, but I can't help but think it won't be that simple. I'd feel at least a little bit jealous if he chose her, and guilty if he chose me instead.' Another sigh echoed in her mind. 'I wish there was an easy way out of this. But what I really wish is… that I could tell him, and he'd return my feelings.'

"Say, Aerith…" His voice cut through her musings, jolting her back into reality. "Do you have a Christmas wish? You were telling me something about them earlier."

She blinked at him, shocked at the sheer coincidence (was it really just a coincidence?) of it all. 'Did he read my mind?' she asked herself half in panic, fearing she'd spoken out loud. Drawing a deep breath before facing him once more, she regained her cheery composure and only replied with a sly "Wouldn't you like to know?" before dashing ahead of him in the hopes of not letting him see her flushed cheeks.

_Kyou wa tokubetsu na hi For today is a special day:_

_Ai ga afure sou na hi A day that seems to overflow with love_

_Kitto watashi ni kiseki ga okorimasu Surely, a miracle will take place for me_

_Kyou wa tokubetsu na hi Today is a special day:_

_Ai no kane ga naru hi A day the bells of love are chiming_

_Anata to futari no love story The day of a love story, with you_

"Wha- Hey!" Surprised by her sudden move, Cloud stood shock-still as he watched her run away. Shaking his head free of the cobwebs of fatigue, he sprung to action and gave chase. It wasn't too difficult to catch up to her, even with her head start; after all, he'd been trained to chase after things faster than flirtatious flower girls, even ones with spunk.

When he'd gotten close enough, the blonde warrior reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, trapping the flower girl with his arms. "Oh no you don't," he growled playfully at her. "You're going to tell me here and now what's the big secret."

Staring straight into those sapphire orbs, Aerith couldn't help but blush. Her wish was coming true… or part of it was, at least. Here she was, in his arms and locking gazes with him, their faces mere inches apart. 'Great… and he had to do it in front of the town church, too,' she inwardly moaned in embarrassment. 'At least it's still empty, considering the hour… or do I actually want someone to see us?' The flower girl immediately booted that thought out of her head. Mentally shaking her head free of her inner musings, she took the opportunity to study her "bodyguard" a little closer.

His scarf had loosened sometime during his pursuit of her, showing off a soft grin that rarely formed on his usually thin lips. He didn't look as stressed as he normally did, she noted, probably from worrying about everyone's wellbeing, and also from the cold exterior he always presented to the world. Just for this moment, no thoughts about the past, her heritage, saving the Planet and fighting the battle of their lives crossed their minds.

Just for this moment, everything was normal. And she treasured every second of it.

Smirking at him to hide her embarrassment at being caught in such a predicament, the flower girl went on tiptoe, further reducing the distance between their faces until their noses almost touched. "Is that the best you can do, SOLDIER boy?" she teased almost flirtatiously, catching Cloud severely off-guard. His surprise showing clearly in his eyes, his embrace loosened, and she saw her chance. Aerith gave the warrior a poke in the ribs, eliciting a muffled grunt from him and causing him to release her completely before once more dashing away from him.

"Come on, Mr. Bodyguard, I'm sure you can do much better than that!" she taunted in between gales of laughter. Hearing an exaggerated roar of mock anger explode behind her, it was evident the bait had been taken.

_Dare mo inai kyoukai no mae In front of the empty church_

_Anata wa watashi no kata daki mitsumete kureta You embraced me, and gazed into my eyes_

_Negaigoto wa XXXXX desu My wishes are (giggle)_

_Kyou wa tokubetsu na hi dakara "Today is a special day, so_

_Kitto kiseki ga okoru Surely miracles will happen!"_

It wasn't long before the sound of his boots crunching the snow beneath it drew closer, and pretty soon he'd grabbed her arm again. "Look here, Miss Gainsborough," he scolded in mock severity, his lips twitching into a slight smile as he listened to her incessant giggling, "I didn't agree to get dragged out of bed at such ungodly hours just so I could chase you halfway around Kalm-"

"My, my, what do we have here?" a voice floated out of nowhere in particular, causing both Aerith and Cloud to look up at the speaker. An elderly-looking woman dressed in a dark green dress and a faded yellow apron with a brown shawl wrapped loosely around her shoulders stood in front of the entrance to a small aged building, one of many that lined the streets. She wore an amused smile on her wrinkled face as she eyed the two young adults before her.

"Goodness, isn't it a bit early for anyone but poor people like me to be up, even a couple like you?" she teased, a mischievous twinkle dancing in her vibrant eyes. The smile turned into full-blown laughter when the "couple" immediately broke apart, their cheeks burning red.

"We're… um… not… together… like… that…," the flower girl stammered as she tried in vain to hide her flushed face with her brown bangs. Cloud was being no help in the communications department, having taken to standing like a statue and staring at his feet as if his life depended on it.

The old woman only laughed harder at that. "That's what they ALL say, dear," she said after the laughs abated, her smile one of warmth and good humor. "I expect you're last-minute Christmas shoppers?" she asked suddenly, changing the topic to avoid their further embarrassment. "It happens every year." She turned around as if to go in, but stopped when she realized that the two had yet to move. "What are you children waiting for? Come on in!" she welcomed with another cheery smile as she held the door open wider. "I can't say I've got the best of selections, but at this hour I'm your only hope."

The Cetra blinked in surprise, having forgotten the awkward situation that had just passed. "You own a gift shop?"

"Well of course, dearie! It's usually a normal item shop, plus groceries, but I ship in some nice things just before the festivities. People need to celebrate their holidays with something, after all. Now come in before you catch your death of cold."

Aerith took a step forward obediently, but halted in mid-stride when her silent companion spoke up for the first time since the elderly shopkeeper's interruption. "You go on ahead," he mumbled. "I suck at gift-shopping."

Sighing in resignation, she nodded before proceeding into the shop, leaving Cloud to stand like a door ornament outside. Once inside, she began to curiously poke around, trying to find something suitable for everyone.

"Is that boyfriend of yours just going to stand outside there the whole time you're in here?" came the now familiar voice of the woman, and soon enough she had reappeared from behind the counter to stand in front of the flower girl.

"He's not… mine," she bit out, blushing again, "But yes, he doesn't want to come in."

"Not yours at all… or not yours yet?" the shopkeeper waggled her eyebrows suggestively, her bemused smile growing wider by the second, changing into another gale of laughter when her only customer buried her flame-red cheeks into her gloved hands and let out a muffled moan of embarrassment. "But I'm right in thinking you have a thing for him, aren't I?" A slow nod was her only answer. "I'll take that to mean your answer is the latter one then," the old woman chuckled to herself.

"If you want my advice, you'd better not wait too long to make a move on him," she said kindly, having put teasing the young lady aside for now. "Guys like him are a little hard to come by, and the packaging doesn't help things either. But of course," she winked, "I'm probably telling you something you already know." Before Aerith could reply in any way, the shopkeeper ushered her along. "Enough chit-chat for now; you have presents to buy. Now come here, I have some really nice items left over…"

_Dare mo ga honno sukoshi kiseki o shinjiyou If only a little, I think everyone believes in miracles_

_Yasashii kotoba kikeru darou You can hear the tender words, can't you?_

_Dare mo ga honno sukoshi kiseki o shinjiyou If only a little, I think everyone believes in miracles_

_Ai no kizuna ga mieru darou You can see the bonds of love, can't you?_

**Some time later…**

"It's been nice doing business with you," the elderly woman said as she passed the purchases to the flower girl. "Oh, and before you leave…," she called out as Aerith made her way to the door, "could you call that young man in here for a moment? I'd like to have a word with him." Confused and a little curious about the shopkeeper's request, the Cetra merely nodded in acknowledgement before she strode out of the building.

"Sorry I took so long," she apologized as soon as she was within earshot of Cloud. The warrior turned around and noted Aerith's bag-laden arms. "It's okay, I didn't really mind waiting. Here, let me help you with that," he offered as he moved to take the gifts from her, but stopped when she held him back with a gesture of her hand.

"She wants to talk to you about something before we go," she told him as she jerked her head towards the frosted windows of the shop, indicating the woman who owned it. Giving the flower girl a questioning look and receiving a shrug in reply, he merely shook his head in resignation as he made his way into the shop.

"I was beginning to think you were going to dash off without coming in," the woman teased as soon as the door closed behind him. "Aren't you going to buy that nice girl out there something for Christmas? I'm sure it would brighten her day."

Cloud scratched his head awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed. "I'm not really good at-"

"Gift-shopping. Yes, she told me you said that. That's not good enough a reason, boy," she scolded him as one would a disobedient child. "It's the thought that counts. And I'm sure she'd like whatever you got her, especially because it's from you." The ex-SOLDIER blinked, unsure of how to read that sentence, but the shopkeeper went on as if she'd said nothing particularly surprising. "Let me see… ah good, I still have some things left over. Come here and select something quick. We wouldn't want her to freeze out there."

"But I…" the blonde man started, only to be shushed quiet. "Not buts. Now come here; there're still some nice snow globes no one's picked up yet."

"…Snow globes?" he repeated, remembering Aerith's story from that morning.

"Yes, they're really lovely ones."

"…I'll take one."

"Good! I'll wrap it up and then you can go!" the lady said cheerfully as she picked up the object and moved towards the counter with it.

"Uh… Don't I have to pay for it?"

"Consider this one on me, dear. Give me a moment… ah, done. Here you go. Merry Christmas," she offered the wrapped gift to him, a motherly smile on her face. "The two of you look very cute together, I must say. And you would, if one of you could stop beating about the bush and get it out," she teased, although there was an undertone of seriousness beneath it.

"…Thank you," he mumbled, unsure if he meant for the present or the advice. Bowing slightly before taking his leave, he soon rejoined Aerith.

"So, what did she want?" the Cetra asked curiously as they walked. Receiving only a mumbled "Nothing much" from her companion, she frowned lightly, suspecting that he was hiding something, but decided to let it slip.

_Kyou wa tokubetsu na hi For today is a special day:_

_Ai ga afure sou na hi A day that seems to overflow with love_

_Kitto watashi ni kiseki ga okorimasu Surely, a miracle will take place for me_

_Kyou wa tokubetsu na hi Today is a special day:_

_Ai no kane ga naru hi A day the bells of love are chiming_

_Anata to futari no love story The day of a love story, with you_

'Stop beating about the bush, huh? Easier said than done,' Cloud mentally grumbled as he thought about the present he'd slipped into the bag he was carrying without Aerith noticing. It was hard enough to try and wrap his head around the idea that his feelings for the flower girl were more than platonic, more so the thought that she might actually like him.

In the midst of his internal struggle, he noticed something out of the corner of his vision. Looking up, his eyes widened as he recognized the object and froze in mid-stride.

_la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la_

_la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la_

Aerith let out a surprised yelp as a gloved hand suddenly clamped down on her arm, causing her to stop abruptly and turn around. The blonde warrior, his hand still holding her by the arm, was staring at the ground trying to hide his flushed face.

"Cloud?" Confused, she followed his directions as she let her gaze travel upwards to where he was now pointing with his free hand. All at once the reason behind his shyness was apparent, and even she let a streak of pink color her cheeks.

Hanging above their heads in all its mischievous glory was a sprig of mistletoe.

"So…" he began awkwardly, "what do we do?"

The flower girl shrugged, trying to ignore her own nervousness. "Well, it wouldn't be very nice to break a 'long-established tradition'…" she trailed off.

"…Okay then…" Ever so slowly they closed the distance between them until both could feel each other's warmth, even through their clothing. It seemed like an eternity before he lowered his face to hers, his eyes sliding close even as she went slightly on tiptoe to meet him halfway. At the last moment, they both hesitated, their lips so close they could feel each other's quickening breaths washing over their faces. Gaining a sudden strengthening of resolve, he made the last move, and their lips met at long last in a slow sweet kiss.

_Kyou wa tokubetsu na hi For today is a special day:_

_Ai ga afure sou na hi A day that seems to overflow with love_

_Kitto watashi ni kiseki ga okorimasu Surely, a miracle will take place for me_

_Kyou wa tokubetsu na hi Today is a special day:_

_Ai no kane ga naru hi A day the bells of love are chiming_

_Anata to futari no love story The day of a love story, with you_

Neither one knew how long it lasted, nor did they care. Only when the need for air became too great to ignore did they separate, their cheeks flushed red as they gasped in the oxygen. Smiling shyly, he pressed his forehead to hers, both of them reveling in the moment as if it were a secret they kept from the rest of the world.

"Merry Christmas, Cloud," she whispered softly after a while, a slight smile gracing her pink lips.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Aerith," he replied, letting himself drown in her forest green eyes.

"Come on," she said as she slipped out of the embrace she suddenly realized she'd been caught in, grabbing his hand. "We should go back to the inn. The others should be waking up by now."

Intertwining his gloved fingers with hers, he could only nod in reply. A comforting blanket of silence enveloped them until she spoke up once more.

"…Cloud?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For making my Christmas wish come true."

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So… um, yeah, I finally finished it within the twelve-days-of-Christmas deadline. Sorry this is so late. Anyways, here's a Happy New Year to all my fellow Aerith/Cloud fans.

The song used above is "Kiseki no Kane", sung by the ladies of the Hanagumi from Sakura Taisen 2: Kimi, Shinitamou Koto Nakare. Like I said, I don't own it either.


End file.
